Composers

Composers in Residence

Abbie Betinis

Originally from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Abbie Betinis moved to the Twin Cities after graduating from St. Olaf College in 2001. On scholarship from the European American Musical Alliance, she has twice traveled to Paris, France, where she studied harmony and counterpoint in the tradition of Nadia Boulanger with faculty from Juilliard and the Paris Conservatory. Betinis has received grants and awards from the American Composers Forum, ASCAP, the Jerome Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Minnesota Music Educators Association, and the University of Minnesota. Her work has been commissioned by more than forty ensembles and is published by Augsburg Fortress, Fred Bock Co., Graphite Publishing, Kjos, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, and, most recently, in G. Schirmer’s “Dale Warland Series.” She recently earned her Master of Arts degree in composition at the University of Minnesota under the mentorship of Judith Zaimont. Since 2005, Betinis has also served as a Composer-in-Residence for The Schubert Club in St. Paul.

Read more about Abbie on her website: www.abbiebetinis.com

Jacelyn Hagen

Jocelyn Hagen (b.1980), a native of Valley City, North Dakota, composes music that has been described as “dramatic and deeply moving” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis/St. Paul). Her first forays into composition were via songwriting, and this is very evident in her work. Her music is melodically driven, boldly beautiful, and intricately crafted. Since her graduation from St. Olaf College in 2003, Jocelyn has received over 20 commissions, 30 premieres, and 80 performances.

Jocelyn has received grants and awards from ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, Minnesota Music Educators Association, VocalEssence, the Yale Glee Club, the Lotte Lehman Foundation, the University of Minnesota, and the San Francisco Song Festival. Her commissions include the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota, the North Dakota Music Teacher’s Association, Cantus, the St. Olaf Band, NDSU Gold Star Band, and the Copper Street Brass. She is currently Composer-in-Residence for Valley City State University, Shorter College in Rome, Georgia, as well as the group she sings in: The Singers—Minnesota Choral Artists. She founded Graphite Publishing, an online publishing company, in 2004 along with fellow composer Timothy C. Takach, and is also published by Boosey and Hawkes. Former teachers include Judith Lang Zaimont, Peter Hamlin, David Maslanka, Mary Ellen Childs, and Timothy Mahr. She completed her Masters in Composition at the University of Minnesota in 2006.

Read more about Jocelyn on her website: www.jocelynhagen.com

Joshua Shank

Born in 1980, Joshua Shank is quickly becoming recognized as a talented and innovative young composer whose music has been widely performed internationally by high school and professional ensembles alike. He received his undergraduate degree in Vocal Music Education from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa where he studied composition with John Morrison and Neil Flory and conducting with Weston Noble. In 2002, Joshua became the youngest composer ever awarded the Raymond W. Brock Student Composition Award by the American Choral Directors Association. The winning piece, Musica animam tangens (written at the age of 20), was premiered at the 2003 ACDA National Convention in New York City in Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center and has since been performed from Los Angeles to South Africa.

His published works have sold over 40,000 copies world-wide and are available through Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Hal Leonard and Daehn Publications. Joshua’s work was featured inChoral Charisma: Singing with Expression by Tom Carter and he was a contributor to Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir, Volume 2. He has been commissioned by organizations such as Kantorei (Denver), Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester (MN), Young New Yorkers’ Chorus, Northern Arizona University, Nebraska Children’s Chorus, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and has served as composer-in-residence for The Singers—Minnesota Choral Artists since the ensemble was founded in 2004.

Read more about Josh on his website: www.joshuashank.com